The first three taxis I took in London this week were driven by South Asians — and they each provided an interesting sense of how India is perceived by its own diaspora and those of neighbouring states. Read more

Nothing succeeds like success. And the opposite is also true:once you start going down the slippery slope, the process only accelerates until you reach rock-bottom.India has yet to reach rock bottom but the ill-effects of its decline are evident in its global standing and influence. Read more

It didn’t really take Rahul Gandhi to wreck Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s tour of the United States. It was already a farewell visit. The US President Barack Obama had been reluctant to meet him, even trying to avoid having to give Singh a lunch. Read more

Over the past several years, India has begun to look at the Indian Ocean strategically. In other words, it has begun taking a long-term and holistic view of preserving its interests in the ocean. Read more

There is a certain delicious irony in the news that India is forecast to become the world’s largest exporter of beef in 2012. Sacred Cows Sold to Nonbelievers to Broil. Unfortunately, this isn’t quite true. Read more

The Hindustan Times is about halfway through a series on India and its neighbours. The links for the first three articles are below. Two more are on the way. For various reasons, mostly illogical, the series eventually chose Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan were given a miss. China is much bigger an issue than just a neighbour. Read more